Help! My dog is squirting diahhrea like crazy!

This forum is for dog lovers seeking everyday advice and suggestions on health-related issues. Remember, however, that advice on a public forum simply can't be a substitute for proper medical attention. Only your vet can say assuredly what is best for your dog.

Like the title says, my dog has diahhrea...*bad*, it's really runny like vommit. I know he didn't get ahold of rat poision though because I know what a dog's deficate looks like when they have, it's yellow tinted, this is like a caramel color (sorry to be so graphic, but it might be of some importance), and there's nothing poisonous to dogs in the trash cans. He isn't acting sick, but he has terrible diahhrea, I keep putting him outside on the lead, he comes back in and he's fine, then he does it on the rug again, that's three times today I've cleaned it up (pretty good sized poos too) and I'm running out of towels. I tried giving him some canned pumpkin but it either isn't working or it hasn't gone through his system yet.

I can't have him continuing to defecate all over the house like this, he always does it in a different area and it's always on the carpet. Part of me wants to put him out back on a lead overnight but I'm afraid of him hurting himself on it or him getting too cold. We really can't afford to take him to the doggy ER right now either because today we just found out we'd be having to put a big wad of cash into the car, that was hit by a truck in a parking lot.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Edit: Also, he can't be put in a kennel because of his first owner (his second owners told us he was terrified of kennels and they couldn't put him in one because his first owner used to throw him into hard objects including kennels), so that's pretty much out of the question. And I don't think I can enclose him in a small area in the house, since he could easily jump over a baby gate, we don't have anything taller.

This really should warrant a vet visit, but, to try to help, need a few more questions answered. How long has the diarrhea been going on? Any change in diet (even the slightest treat)? Any change in environment (been around new dogs, been to a new place, etc.)? Any blood in the diarrhea? Vaccine history?

Sometimes its best to let him 'Empty" first. To prevent dehydration we have used "Pedyalite" (SP), you can find it in most children sections of the pharmacy. It is kinda like water with electrolites/minerals etc. This is added in portions to his water dish, just to get him stabalized. It will not do much for the diarrhea.

As far as to stabalize his tummy/guts.......we always boil rice and ground hamburger. We put about 2 cups rice to a regular sized package of hamburger. Cover with lots of water, way more than if you were cooking rice for yourself. Do not put the lid on the pot as it boils. We boil this till the rice is soggy and hamburger is cooked. Then we feed it in small portions, say 1/2 cup at a time....it needs to be cooled. You can keep the amount you don't use in the fridge. if he can stomach it, then we let them eat another 1/2 cup maybe an hour or two later. The main thing here is the rice.

Keep in mind this is what we do if the dog has the runs, but isn't acting lethargic or sickly. Just plain runs. It has helped our dogs out tremendously each and every time.

Regardless, there's really no "quick fix" to make the squirts stop instantaneously. Pumpkin works well in bulking up stools, as does boiled chicken with steamed rice. But you won't see any of the effects for at least 2-6 hours, if that soon.

This really should warrant a vet visit, but, to try to help, need a few more questions answered. How long has the diarrhea been going on? Any change in diet (even the slightest treat)? Any change in environment (been around new dogs, been to a new place, etc.)? Any blood in the diarrhea? Vaccine history?

????

He had an accident earlier in the day around 4 PM but it wasn't *too* runny, and then no problems. Then he did a couple of them in a row, then he was perfectly fine for an hour then another, then he finished outside and now he's just playing. I don't know when he's going to poo, he just squats and does it. There's no blood in the diahhrea at all, thank heavens. He has had some raw recently (salmon and a couple tiny chunks of beef heart), and sardines (cooked, canned in water) but he hasn't shown any adverse effects to sardines before, and the salmon he ate about three days ago, it was only about 4 ounces worth (a fillette).

As far as vaccines go, we got him UTD on all his vaccines, but we were told the rabies vaccine would expire about september, so we took him in on september 9th of this year and got his Rabies shot, he didn't show any anverse effects afterward, no vommitting or diahhrea, lumps or rashes or strange behavior. It's been over 3 months since his rabies vaccination, can problems really occur that much later? The only thing I can think is that he ate something really greasy in the trash (sometimes people throw away greasy paper towels) or he ate some fabric off of his tug-toy, but I didn't see anything in the poop.

Thank you, I'll try the rice. He's not acting at all lethargic (he's been quite playful), though he did lay on the couch for a bit, but that's normal around this time at night.

I think I'm gonna "stock up" on caffeine and do the rice and monitor him until this passes, and if it doesn't, I'll try to borrow money from someone to get him to the vet (there's a vet in town a friend told me about that didn't make them pay up front to give their kittens their shots and I *think* someone said they're good with people who are having financial troubles). I just wish vets were like hospitals, open 24/7...

I hope he is going to be okay. He might have found his way into something that his system didn't like. I also do rice with hamburger and find it to be great, but with diarrhea in dogs there are so many possibilities.

Any blood in the stools? Are they really odorous, smell fart like? Any gel like substance in the stool? What color are they?

At the very least take a fecal sample to the vet, dogs have parasites in the intestines, and sometimes they flare up, causing diarrea. Giardia, coccidia and more.. some are inter-species, meaning YOU can get sick too.. The vet can run a panel on the poo, and find out if there is anything causing it, then give you medications for the dog, usually about a week of medication, then recheck a fecal sample after another two weeks.

Pawsonally we make sure everypup has a fecal exam at least once a year, then more if anyone gets sick. You also never know what they have picked up at the many places we take them, the park, the petstore, training school, daycare...

He needs to go to the doctor-he may have a serious problem. Just like children, they need medical care- it is one thing people forget when getting a dog...wrap a towel or blanket around him and get him to the doctor!

From the description of the poopies, it sounds like your tummy is severely upset by something. The more experiments you try to fix this will probably just end up irritating it even more. It could be a simple bacteria gone wild in your tummy.

You can get dehydrated pretty quickly.

Even big dogs.

Even in the winter time (more likely then bee-cause dogs sometimes don't drink as much when it's cold).